1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aesthetic shingle or ridge cover for roofing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shingle ridge cover that is particularly efficient to manufacture, is durable, economical to ship, aesthetically pleasing as installed on a roof, and which provides a triple layer of shingle material over the underlying roof structure. As installed, the inventive ridge cover also has a particularly attractive appearance which is somewhat like a comparatively thick wood shake, so that the configuration of the present shingle ridge cover gives an appearance of depth and creates shadow lines at adjacent ridge covers. It is these shadow lines and appearance of depth which are considered among the principal aesthetically pleasing aspects of a wood shake roof. On the other hand, the present shingle ridge cover provides fire protection much better than conventional wood shakes.
2. Related Technology
A conventional low-cost organic asphalt composition ridge cover is known in accord with U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,294, issued 21 Oct. 1975 to B. Freiborg. The Freiborg patent is believed to teach a cover for the hips, ridges, and rakes of a roof wherein the cover includes a body of sheet organic filamentary material or felt layered first on an outer face with saturant asphalt penetrating somewhat through the felt sheet as well as saturating into the filaments of the felt, and then additionally layered with on outer asphalt layer securing a cosmetic and abrasion-resisting outer coating of granular mineral material.
The ridge cover of Freiborg is configured as an elongate trapezoid having a T-shaped slit extending along its length near the center thereof. Plural transverse score lines transect the upright of the T-shaped slit, and the ridge cover is back folded on itself at these score lines either two times or four times to provide a central thickening in the ridge cover. Primarily because the asphalt material tends to be brittle, especially when cool, the ridge cover of Freiborg while warm during manufacturing is folded lengthwise with the granular material outward. This lengthwise fold both to allows shipment of the ridge cover in a compact form, and insures that any bending along the lengthwise fold which occurs in the field preparatory to installation of the cover on a roof is in the direction of unfolding the ridge cover at this lengthwise fold.